I grew up in a loud family.  My Mum and Dad would argue like cat & dog.  But the minute dinner guests arrived at home, which was often when I was young.  They became the smiling, lovingly respectful couple!

By the time the guests left….the argument was forgotten.  Dysfunctional?  No doubt.  But as a kid I was always amazed at how they could go from “I’m FED UP with YOU!!” to “Dave honey, can you help me with the drinks please?“

Fitness is like a relationship – the more you work on it the better it becomes.  If you slack off and can’t be bothered with either – they both go downhill pretty quickly!  They both need consistency and attention.  And yeah both are challenging.  But if you don’t keep working on them – they soon go to crap!

They both take time, commitment, deep-breathing patience and routine!

Why routines are important…

To many the word ‘routine’ sounds very ‘ho-hum’ with zero excitement involved. But without it….your chance of achieving anything on this planet is pretty much down to sheer luck.

A routine is the quiet star of your day!  Because…

• it offers structure and a sense of predictability.   Particularly in this chaotic world we’re in.
• a routine gets you ‘in’ the moment.  And anchors you to being fully in the NOW.
• it takes you out of the never-ending dramatic movie that’s going on in your mind!   And allows you to be fully ‘in’ your body.
• it helps you to stop going over and over your feelings and emotions about past events.   Or future (still hasn’t happened yet) events.  That endless movie reel in your mind!
• you develop discipline.  And that gets you moving forward instead of languishing in the same ‘shall I or shan’t I’ spot.
• when you’re having a crappy day and can’t get out of your head, a routine will get you out of that draining mind stuff and moving forward!
• routines make you productive by keeping you on track.  It’s easy in this gadget-filled world we live in, to waste hours doing very little!  A routine keeps you growing, changing and learning almost without noticing.

Plus routines can show you who you ‘really’ are. What your values are, what interests you and where your dreams lie.

Look at your habits now.  What do you do regularly?  Your healthy habits and not so healthy habits.  What do the not so healthy habits say about you?  Do you like where they’re headed or could they do with a tweak or two?

A ‘going with the flow’ mentality helps you take advantage of the moment. And gets you open to new experiences.  But if you do it all the time….it’ll end up holding you back.   

Think about what you want to achieve and how you want to feel in your body.   And get some routines happening around that.

Get into a non-negotiable training routine…

It’s not a 4 week or 8 week program – and then you stop!  It’s lifelong!  You brush your teeth in the morning – you do a workout!  With a day or two off per week of course!  (Not with the teeth!)

It changes the quality and longevity of your life!  Want to live it relatively pain-free and with minimal discomfort?  Then KEEP exercising!

And yeah you may not love the idea of an exercising routine…it might be a pain in the arse thing you have to get done. BUT it’s life-changing stuff when you get your body fit & strong!

Routine is NOT boring.  It changes your life.